The Dual Meaning of Managerial Careers: Organizational and Individual Levels of Analysis

A theoretical framework is proposed which brings out the duality of managerial careers by distinguishing between organizational and individual levels of analysis. At the organizational level, careers can be seen as part of a process of social reproduction, which points the way to linking organizational form and behaviour with comparatively stable career patterns characteristic of particular firms or kinds of firm. At the individual level careers are expressed as a sequence of work role transitions, representing choices between opportunities presented to managers by organizations. Each level of analysis illuminates a different aspect of managerial careers, but it is equally important that each should be seen in the light of the other.